What wardrobe malfunction? Justin Timberlake not asked about incident with Janet Jackson

Justin Timberlake right now is working with his 2-year-old son on his manners. Any notion of the young lad picking up a football, or even a musical instrument, will have to come at a later date.

At his news conference Thursday in Minneapolis in advance of his performance at halftime in Sunday’s Super Bowl between the New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles, Timberlake was asked if he would support his son, Silas, if he wanted to “run some routes and get into the NFL.”

“Uh, he will never play football,” Timberlake said. “No. Yeah, it’s kind of like that thing where my main objective is that he become a great person and if he wants to get into the arts or sports, then, yeah, I would fully support that. I think I can hopefully offer him some advice on what to do, what not to do.

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“But right now, we’re working on our manners. That’s a big deal in our house right now. It’s like, one thing at a time.”

Questions posed to the pop star were mostly fluff. While he was asked about his bromance with Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, saying, “Tom’s great. He’s the greatest of all time,” Timberlake, for instance, was not asked about the infamous “wardrobe malfunction” that took place 14 years ago at Super Bowl XXXVIII in Houston.

Janet Jackson was the lead performer of the show and Timberlake, as a guest performer, ripped off part of Jackson’s clothing, briefly revealing Jackson’s bare, pierced nipple before an international television audience. Jackson’s career never fully recovered.

Timberlake could also have been questioned about recent controversies. Nothing doing.

In any case, Timberlake said he will not be joined onstage Sunday by ‘N Sync, or Jackson. Only saying his band, The Tennessee Kids, would join.

Referring to Sunday’s show in broader terms, Timberlake said, “Without giving too much away, we’re doing a few things with this halftime show that they’ve never quite done before. So, I’m excited to do that. I always like to be able to push to do something like that.”

In January, thousands of people reportedly signed a petition demanding Timberlake apologize to Jackson for his part in the show.

"During the (2004) event, a costume malfunction created a moment where Janet Jackson’s nipple was visible. Justin pulled the costume off, but Janet was the one who got slut shamed and trashed for indecency," the petition reads. "We demand that Janet Jackson be invited back to the Super Bowl halftime show alongside Justin Timberlake. At the very least, Timberlake should issue a public apology to Janet Jackson."

Timberlake is releasing his new album, "Man Of The Woods," on Friday. His tour comes to SAP Center in San Jose on April 24-25.